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WELCOME!

This site is dedicated to sharing what we have learned with you! Enjoy our tutorials, and if you have a question please feel free to ask! I know one of our sugar enthusiasts will either know or try to find the answer.We all have something to share...and we all have something to learn!

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Key Lime Christmas Tree

Celebrate the Holiday by Creating a Cookie Tree Centerpiece! Scroll down for tutorial!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

This tutorial is a step by step on making the isomalt
Christmas lights. Super easy to do and very, very pretty! These lights
can be strung on a cake or used individually on cupcakes. Either way,
they are sure to please!

2. ALWAYS ALWAYS use
protective gloves. Hot sugar STICKS to skin and will continue to
burn. You can peel a glove off quickly, but not your skin. We have
some wonderful protective gloves by Cake Play. See here.We
carry these gloves in three sizes, small, medium and large.

Melt your
isomalt in the microwave. I use 50% power and check it every 30 seconds
or so. This is sugar so it can burn, don't over nuke :-) I run a
stick through it JUST to make sure all is melted. I should be
bubbling.

I did color this clear mix by adding a drop of Americolor to
it. Gel coloring is recommended, not liquid or powder. Shake your
Americolors up well before using. Add the color once it comes out of
the microwave and is bubbling. You will hear the color sizzle on top of
the bubbling sugar. Wait until it stops sizzling and the water is
burned out of it, then gently stir into the isomalt.

You also can add
disco dust at this point if you want a glittery finished piece. We have
a nice variety of discos available. Let the mix sit on the counter a
few minutes until most of the bubbles have come to the top and popped.

Gently pour into your molds. I take a toothpick and make sure all the
sugar is stuck to all the nooks and crevices.

~One helpful tip~

If you
find your sugar is hardening faster than you can get it to all the
nooks, you can warm your mold in the microwave at 50% power for about 20
seconds. Starting with a warm mold will give you a longer "work" time
to spread the sugar.

Another thing you can do is put the mold on a
heating pad and warm it that way. That will give you even more work
time. No need to add anything to the mold like a grease. Leave the
mold as is.

3. Unmold the lights. You
usually can tell when they are ready to be unmolded if the mold is no
longer warm to touch on the backside.

4. Now it's time to torch them if you want them crystal
clear. Any food grade silicone mold will "gas" and create a ever so
soft texture on your piece. By taking a creme brulee type torch and
gently torching the surface, it will clarify it. This is the torch I
purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond (don't forget your coupon :-) You also
can use a grill lighting type Aim N Flame but those are harder to use
because they can burn the sugar easier. At least that is my
experience.

Hold the sugar piece with a pair of tweezers and move it
closer and closer to the flame until you can see it clarify. Be careful
not to burn it. Safety is first and foremost here friends...PLEASE
read the instructions for your torch!!

5. Next, I took my sugarcraft gun
with the small string disk and piped out two lines of fondant. I
colored this using avocado Americolor. You also can use gumpaste as
well.

6. Let the strings dry just a little and then twist them together like a real light string would be.

7. I like to paint the socket part with silver hi-liter dust.
Simply mix some dust with vodka, I do this in the lid. Mix to the
consistency of maple syrup. Then paint the socket part. Let the dust
completely dry in the cap before putting the cap back on your
container. In doing this, no dust is wasted.You can see the difference of the torched lights, two on left, and the not torched, on right.

8.
Here they are!! As always when using isomalt, we recommend you place
your pieces on the cake the day of the party.

You can make them far in
advance, but you need to store them in an airtight container with desiccant packets.
These will keep your pieces crystal clear. Humidity can affect your
pieces so that's why we recommend placing the day of the party and using
the desiccant packets.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

After designing and baking your gingerbread house, it is time to assemble and decorate. Here are a few tips for assembly, followed by suggestions for decoration. Ultimately, it is your creation, so you can keep it simple or make your house as elaborate as you desire

Supplies

Gingerbread pieces

½” foam core

¼” foam core for small houses

Pencil

Ruler

Xacto Knife

Royal Icing **

at least 4 unopened cans to use as weights to stabilize while drying

small embroidery scissors

gelatine sheets

Lay out your gingerbread pieces out flat with house corners
touching on a sheet of paper.

Move two facing sides inside the corner by exactly the width
of your gingerbread. If your baked pieces are ¼” thick, then move two sides
inward by ¼” each side.

With a pencil, trace the inside space. Straighten lines and shore up the corners
to be a perfect right angle (90 degrees,) then cut the pattern for your
foundation.

Lay the pattern over ¼- ½” foam core. Trace the pattern and
cut the foamcore. If you are adding additions to your house, cut the addition to your pattern. The additions will be built on separate foundations and secured together later.

Run a bead of royal icing around the edge of the foam corn
and set up two corner walls, securing with royal icing.

At this point, it is easier to secure your windows. Using embroidery scissors, just cut a square of gelatine sheets and secure with royal icing.

You can also use poured sugar windows made ahead of time, then glue in with royal icing. It is easier to affix the windows while flat, but you can also place inside before you place your roof, if you like.

Set cans against the two walls to secure.

Repeat the process with the two remaining walls.

Pipe an extra line around each corner and allow to set for a
few minutes until secure.

Pipe a line of royal icing around the top edge of your
walls.

Place the roof. Depending on how large your house is and how heavy the roof, it may be necessary to secure with reinforcement (extra cans).

Pipe royal icing at the seam where roof meets on top.

Allow to set until dry.

Steeples and Chimneys can be constructed at this point,
securing with royal icing.

Allow to dry before attaching to roof.

*If you have additions on your house, construct separately
and allow to dry, then attach to the rest of your structure. At that point, you
can add the roof.

Let the house completely dry before moving to the next
step…the fun part! Decorating the house!

When the icing securing the roof has completely hardened, your house can be decorated with Fondant, Pretzels, Cereals, Candies ( gum drops, mints, pastilles, skittles, hard candies ect) Shredded wheat, Pastas, bitesized crackers, lentils, or beans!
Just use your royal icing to secure the decorations.
When dry the icing will act as a glue and hold the decoration firmly in place.
For my houses, I cut fondant strips and overlaid them on the exterior.

For one house's roof, I textured a rectangle of fondant to make a shingled roof,

but pastilles can be used to make a wonderful shingled roof or siding too.